Gartner Unveils IT Market Clock To Rebalance IT Priorities

Gartner has developed the IT Market Clock, a decision framework to assist IT and business leaders evaluate and prioritise their IT investment and divestment activities throughout the entire asset life cycle.

“IT is no longer a set of emerging capabilities and markets, but a maturing business tool and must be managed as such,” said Brian Gammage, vice president and Gartner fellow. “Every IT product and service has a finite useful life and must eventually be retired or replaced. Correct timing of retirement, replacement and re-investment is critical.”

The IT Market Clock is complementary to Gartner Hype Cycles. While Gartner Hype Cycles follow the progress of technologies from their first appearance to mainstream maturity, the IT Market Clock highlights the progress of IT products and services from the time they first become viable to deploy and use, to the time when they must be retired. The Gartner Hype Cycle supports ‘technology hunting’ decisions, while the IT Market Clock supports ‘farming’ decisions for assets already in use.

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The IT market clock uses a clock-face metaphor to represent relative market time and how technology assets are positioned based on their progress through their market life cycles and commoditisation levels. A symbol used for each asset also demonstrates the time it will take for each asset to transition into the next of the four market life phases:

- Advantage — From 12:00 to 3:00, during which time the market typically moves from an emerging to adolescent status. Levels of demand and competition are typically low, so the technology is procured for what it delivers, not for its placement in its own market.

- Choice — From 3:00 to 6:00, during which time the market typically moves from adolescence to early mainstream. This is the phase of highest demand growth, during which supply options should grow and prices fall at their fastest rate.

- Cost — From 6:00 to 9:00, during which time the market moves from early mainstream to mature mainstream. During this phase, commoditisation is at its highest level and costs will be the strongest motivator in most procurement decisions.

- Replacement — From 9:00 to 12:00, during which time the market moves from mature mainstream, through legacy and to ‘market end’ (after which, the technology is no longer viable to procure or use). Procurement and operating costs will steadily rise and organisations should seek alternative approaches to fulfilling the business requirement.

“With this holistic decision framework, organisations will be able to proactively manage their portfolio of assets and determine the right time to adopt and deploy emerging or adolescent technology options, establish roadmap plans for replacement and upgrade of existing technology assets, and perform reviews with suppliers for best saving opportunities,” said Gammage. “Although this framework is focused on technology assets, the same approach could be applied to any class of business assets.”